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Is Jubilee same as Golden Jubilee? Or are they different varieties. Different sites have them listed as slightly different weights and such.

I think the short answer is that Jubilee tomatoes available today may be the same under both names . . . or there may be some survivors of the original Golden Jubilee, or , or, or . . .

But in my not too rigorous pursuit of info on this (mainly interested in the Burpee edition, as a grandchild of Marglobe), here's what I have.

It appears that in the 1880's, an individual in Australia discovered/produced in his garden an impressive, enormous, round "golden" tomato, which quickly gained local fame. He sent seeds to the famous John Lewis Childs, who is perhaps the first to found a mail order seed catalog in the US.

Childs grew out the new tomato, and listed it in his catalog (first in 1889) as Childs' Golden Jubilee.

As Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee was in 1888, it seems likely that the name was given to the tomato that was "handsome as a ball of gold" in her honor, either by the Australian producer, or by Childs -- but that's a guess.

Being in Childs' seed catalog no doubt gave the tomato wide distribution, and in those days, and for some decades after, there was no protection for those who first developed or distributed a new variety. The first distributor usually had a monopoly for a couple of years, until rivals could produce enough seed to grow their own stock -- which they might distribute under whatever name they thought most profitable. So there may have been Golden Jubilees and Jubilees of other producers being distributed in succeeding decades, especially as, when it first appeared, Childs apparently knew of no other tomato that color.

Whether one of Golden Jubilee's descendants was Tangerine, I've no idea, but as Tangerine was not introduced by Burpee until 1937, about fifty years from the first appearance of Golden Jubilee, there was certainly time for its genes to get about. But Tangerine may have come from a line known to contain no Golden Jubilee ancestry -- I don't know -- and considering the time, and the lack of any legal encroachment issues -- it may be that the Tangerine producers didn't know for sure, either, and probably had no reason to care about such ancient tomato history.

Anyway, in the 1930's Tangerine was crossed with that child of Marglobe, Rutgers, the cross was selected for six generations, and the result was released as Jubilee AKA Burpee's Jubilee and this, was the "All American Selection" winner in 1943.

The confusion between the two -- the Australian to Childs Golden Jubilee, and the Tangerine x Rutgers (Burpee) Jubilee, and family heirloom descendants of each line, could be like the "Arkansas Traveler" tomato, where the name, familiar from days of yore, became attached to later tomatoes which may or may not have been descended from the original.

I wonder whether any of the original Golden Jubilee line is definitely known to exist, as it sounds as if it might have been a larger tomato than the modern tomatoes listed today under Jubilee or Golden Jubilee. I believe that the USDA received their "Golden Jubilee" donation in 1963, which date would not exclude it being seed from the Tangerine x Rutgers line that had been grown for some time by individuals under the popular Golden Jubilee name. Or there might be data related to that seed donation that verify that it was from the older Australian - Childs' line -- I just don't know.

I do have a note that in 1956 there was a "Golden Marglobe" -- released by Michael-Leonard Co. of Ames Iowa -- that was Golden Jubilee x Marglobe -- but again, don't know whether that was the Australian - Childs lineage or whether it referenced a Burpee Jubilee decendant known by its growers under the old time name.

Below are some relevant links -- and hopefully it's ok to include some of the content at the links, as I know that sometimes some can't access all links -- the only modern one is Burpee -- should come under 'fair use' as I included only the portion with accurate description of their tomato and verification that their Jubilee was the 1943 All American winner.
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From page 16 of John Lewis Childs'
Spring catalogue of seeds, bulbs and plants for 1890

Childs' Golden Jubilee, (New 1889.) The seed was first sent
us by a customer in Australia, who says that it came up by
chance in a corner of his garden, and proved to be the
wonder of the town. He sent us all the seed from one
fruit which he says weighed over two pounds and was as
smooth as an apple, and as handsome as a ball of gold.
Thus it has proved—the enormous fruits weighing upwards
of two pounds are of the deepest and richest golden
color, and borne very abundantly. In shape they are
mostly round and more solid and contain less seeds than
any other sort we know, notwithstanding its enormous
size. Its quality is the richest and best; the only yellow
sort we know, of as good quality as the best red ones.
Sliced with red ones for table use they make a beautiful
dish. The skin will peel from them as readily as though
thev were scalded, a feature not found in other tomatoes,
and one which will be greatly appreciated by cooks. Per
Packet, 20 cents: 3 packets for 50 cents.

Tomato, Burpee's Jubilee
A Burpee original—and an All-America Selections winner in 1943.
Bred right here, Burpee's Jubilee is the outstanding result of a stabilized, six-generation selection from a cross between Tangerine and Rutgers tomatoes. Jubilee was an All-America Selections winner in 1943, and you can taste and see why. Up to 3" across, the bright golden-orange globular fruits are smooth and solid, with a mild delectable flavor. High-yielding indeterminate plants. Fruit Weight: 6-7 ounces Days to Maturity: 80 days

I believe Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee was in 1887, not 1888, but edit function wouldn't display the post, just a blank field, with complaint that post was too short. Apparently the Jubilee jumble is confusing it, too.

Thanks! Of course we still don't know for sure if there is a tomato around that matches the Child's description. But perhaps with the info available, someone will get interested and grow out some current "Golden Jubilee" listings and see if somewhere there still is a plant producing tomatoes upwards of two pounds, smooth as an apple and handsome as a ball of gold. If not here . . . perhaps in Australia?

I couldn't try to grow it here, as a tomato with tasty fruit that size is almost certainly one that needs a long, warm season to mature.

At least the info gives anyone interested some data to use to decide whether they might be growing the original Golden Jubilee.

I'm curious about Tangerine's ancestry, too. In that era Burpee did pretty vigorous variety development, and there wouldn't have been any reason they shouldn't take the Australian-Child's Golden Jubilee and work with it to produce a "golden" tomato of their own, and their use of the Jubilee name for the Tangerine x Rutgers tomato makes one wonder if that was a nod to the original source of the color . . . or using that name may have just been a business decision, as the Jubilee name would by that time have been associated by many with a "golden" tomato.

Of course, that was when David Burpee was in his prime and one might think that unless there was an ancestral or other strong reason to choose 'Jubilee' as a name, he would have named a golden orange Burpee tomato "Marigold"